CakePHP: One core, many apps

CakePHP allows you to use one set of core files while maintaining multiple applications. It only takes a few steps, but may not be completely straightforward the first time you try. In my example, I have my workspace in ~/dev. I would setup my project in ~/dev/client_name/project_name. I place my cake core files in separate folders for each version in ~/dev/lib/cakephp.

The basics

Download and install the latest version of CakePHP in a good location.Examples:

Linux: /usr/lib/cakephp/cake_1.2.2.8120

Windows: C:\lib\cakephp\cake_1.2.2.8120

Copy the contents of the app folder to your project root. This is typically your webserver root or a folder within.

Edit the following constants in webroot/index.php:

ROOTYou’ll want to change it so the root is one level back (your project root)
[code=php]
if (!defined(‘ROOT’)) {
define(‘ROOT’, dirname(dirname(__FILE__)));
}
[/code]

APP_DIRThis one just gets set to blank since your root is also your app folder
[code=php]
if (!defined(‘APP_DIR’)) {
define(‘APP_DIR’, ”);
}
[/code]

It may take a little work to get the paths right, but it is well worth it. If you try to access your project and you get PHP errors, it probably means something is wrong with the core path above. The next project you start, just copy the app folder again as above, and copy the same index.php into any new projects you start.

Different paths for dev and live
The above example only covers one server configuration. Some developers may be developing in Windows while their production server runs Linux. In that case you will need to account for each server. A simple if/else statement will take care of this. In my case, I have “localdev” as the hostname for my local development server. Here is what my CAKE_CORE_INCLUDE_PATH configuration looks like:
[code=php]
if (!defined(‘CAKE_CORE_INCLUDE_PATH’)) {
if ($_SERVER[‘SERVER_NAME’] == ‘localdev’) {
define(‘CAKE_CORE_INCLUDE_PATH’, ‘..’.DS.’..’.DS.’..’.DS.’lib’.DS.’cakephp’.DS.’cake_1.2.2.8120′);
} else {
define(‘CAKE_CORE_INCLUDE_PATH’, DS.’usr’.DS.’lib’.DS.’cakephp’.DS.’cake_1.2.2.8120′);
}
}
[/code]

Upgrading CakePHP
Upgrading CakePHP is pretty easy. Just install the latest version of CakePHP as described above. Then when you are ready to upgrade your app, change the core path again and start testing. If you run into issues with the latest version, it is really easy to switch back.

One question though… in installations where cake and app reside together, the way to make cake ignore real folders (subdomain folders) is to include the following in your .htaccess that existing above the cake and app folders.

@kaklon
can you give an apache2-linux-newbie-friendly example of your symbolic link solution?

@anyone willing to help
i am to develop a second cakephp application but would like to just use the same cake core for both apps. i tried, but have accepted that i cannot do this on my own anymore. suggestions/corrections are most welcome. thanks.

i only have one development machine which i can use to develop secondapp while retaining firstapp (for occassional new requirements, bug fixes and testing):
/cake_1.2
/cake_1.2/cake
/cake_1.2/docs
/cake_1.2/vendors
/cake_1.2/firstapp
/cake_1.2/firstapp/config
/cake_1.2/firstapp/controllers
/cake_1.2/firstapp/models
/cake_1.2/firstapp/views
/cake_1.2/firstapp/webroot
/cake_1.2/index.php
/cake_1.2/.htaccess